[1][2] Born into a well educated family (his father was an art critic) originally from the Molise region, Maselli graduated from the Italian National Film School in 1949 and began his career as an assistant and assistant director for Luigi Chiarini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Luchino Visconti.

[1][2] After directing several short documentary and fiction films, he gave his feature film debut with the World War II drama Abandoned (1955), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

[1][2][3] Following a series of minor films, Maselli had greater success with Silver Spoon Set (1960, also titled The Dolphins) and Time of Indifference (1964), an adaptation of a novel by Alberto Moravia.

[1][2] In the 1970s, Maselli turned to openly left-wing political films,[3] notably Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera (1970) and The Suspect (1975),[1][2][3] before shifting to more intimate films centered on female protagonists in the 1980s such as A Tale of Love (1986) and The Secret (1990).

[2] Maselli died in Rome on 21 March 2023, at the age of 92.